Refrigerating apparatus



July 29, 1958 o. v. SAUNDERS ETAL- 2,845,321

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24 1956 Sfi 5 mwm m m M m N fi on w 0M Y B "a 1 U 1 v J H 5 y 1 H H 5 02 (EL: A.

7715/1? ATTORNEY July '29, 1958 o. v. SAUNDERS EjTAL 2,

' REFRIGERATING APPARATUS med Oct. 24, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Orson V. Saunders and Milton G. Betz, Dayton, Ohio, assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application October 24, 1956, Serial No. 618,046

Claims. (Cl. 312-214) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to a refrigerator cabinet.

It has been customary practice to mount the refrigerator door in such a manner as to project beyond the face of the main cabinet with portions of the latch mechanism and hinges countersunk into the insulated wall portion of the cabinet, whereas it is an object of this invention to provide a cabinet construction wherein the latch mechanism and hinges are mounted in a door guard or trim strip which is attached to the face of the cabinet and which surrounds the side and top edges of the door so as to largely conceal the door edges and give the effect of a door which is countersunk into the face of the cabinet without actually countersinking the door into the insulated wall portion of the cabinet.

It is an object of this invention to provide a refrigerator having insulated walls forming a food storage compartment and having an uninsulated and relatively thin wall-like projection secured to the front edge of the insulated walls and serving to mount some of the door accessories and also serving to reduce the circulation of room air into the region of the main door seal.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the door mold- Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 1 showing the construction and arrangement of the door hinge;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 44 of Figure 3 showing the door hinge construction and the arrangement of the electric lead wires used for conveying current from the cabinet into the door for supplying current to the butter heater, or the like, on the cabinet door;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view, with parts broken away, showing the construction and arrangement of one of the adjustable feet for the cabinet; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the relationship between the latch mechanism and the rest of the equipment.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown, reference numeral 10 generally designates a refrigerator cabinet provided with an access door 12 hinged to the cabinet 10 by means of a pair of hinges 14. As best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the cabinet 10 includes an outer shell 11 having an inturned flange 13 at its front edge and an inner liner 15 spaced from the outer shell with insulation 17' between the shell and liner. The inturned flange 13 forms a flat face for the front edge of the insulated wall ICC portion and is adapted to be engaged by the. bulb portion 16 of a conventional door sealing strip attached to the inner face of the door 12. A flexible plastic breaker strip 17 has its one edge wedged into a channel 19 formed as an integral extension of the inturned flange 13 and has its other end provided with a hook-like con struction arranged to be snapped over the front edge of the inner liner 15 as shown was to close the gap between the flange 13 and theinner liner 15. A stiffening channel member 21 is provided behind the flange 13, as shown. I

A plurality of trim mounting brackets 18 are attached to the front edge or face of the insulated side walls of the cabinet at spaced points around the edges of the door 12 for supporting a door edge guard or trim strip 22. The brackets 18 are each approximately 8 inches long and are held in place by means of self-tapping metal screws 20 which pass through the inturned flange 13 and stiffening channel 21 on the main cabinet outer shell 11. The length of the brackets and the spacing between the brackets may be varied and would vary with different sized cabinets. The brackets 18 serve to removably support the decorative trim strip material 22 which, for purposes of illustration, has been shown as secured to the brackets 18 by means of self-tapping metal screws 24. The trim strip 22 is shown as a substantially U-shaped channel Whereas the brackets 18 are substantially L- shaped in cross-section. The trim strip material 22 is preferably made of lightweight polished metal which overlies a heavier U-shaped channel element 23 so as to provide a durable member which can readily be cleaned to remove fingerrnarks and soil without danger of damaging any paint or enamel and is preferably continuous throughout major portions of the door opening so as to provide a neat and easy-to-clean surface.

As indicated in Figs. 3 through 6, the door latch 26 is so constructed and arranged as to be largely hidden by the trim strip and the hinges 14 are designed to blend in with the trim strip. The adjustable front feet 30 for the cabinet cooperate with threaded apertures in brackets 31 which are secured to the lower pair of mounting brackets 18 (see Fig. 5) rather than being secured to the main cabinet housing whereby the cabinet leveling screws are hidden by the trim strip but are readily accessible for adjustment purposes.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, each hinge comprises a main U-shaped hinge element 38 which has the bight portion thereof bolted to the inturned flange 13 which forms the front face of the insulated portion of the cabinet 10 by means of suitable mounting bolts 40. A second U-shaped element 42 is nested within and pivotally secured to the U-shaped element 38 by means of the pivot pins 44 which are arranged as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing. The door 12 is secured to the hinge by means of an angle-iron bracket 46 which has its one flange fastened to the door 12 by means of screws 50 and has its other flange secured to the bight portion of the hinge element 42 by means of screws 48 which pass through slots '49 formed in the bracket 46 so as to provide for adjustment of the door relative to the hinge. The trim strip is modified slightly at each of the hinges and includes a first stationary portion 51 which is held in place by the screws 40 -(see Fig. 3) and serves to conceal the stationary portion of the hinge 38 and a second portion 53 which snaps onto the movable portion of the hinge 42 so as to conceal the same.

The main trim strip 22 also serves to conceal the electrical leads 52 which lead from the usual power source (not shown) in the cabinet to the usual butter compartment heater (not shown) on the door. As best shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, the electrical leads 52 enter a fitting 54 carried by the door through an opening 56 which is substantially in line with the pivotal axis of the door whereby, as the door is pivoted about its axis, the opening 56 does not change location and consequently, the lead Wires willbetwisted about their longitudinal axis rather thanbeing bent.

As indicated in Fig. 6 of the-drawing, the door late mechanism is concealed by the trim strip 22 and is secured to the front face of the flange 13 rather than being countersunk into the main insulated wall of the cabinet, as has been customary practice. The door latch is of the type shown in copending application S. N. 592,783, filed June 21, 1956, now Patent No. 2,819,138, granted January 7, 1958 to which reference is hereby made for a more complete description of the latch mechanism. The door handle 60 includes a flange 57 which cooperates with the strip 22 to conceal the strike rollers 58 carried by the door when the door is closed. The uppermost roller 58 cooperates with the spring-pressed keeper element 62 to hold the door closed.

The interior of the refrigerator and the refrigeration system used for cooling the same have not been shown as these may be of conventional construction. See U. S. Patent 2,672,023 for a disclosure of one system which could be used.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein diclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having insulated walls, said cabinet having an open front food storage compartment therein, a door for closing the open front of said food storage compartment, a door seal strip arranged between said door and the front edges of said insulated walls, a plurality of mounting brackets secured to the front edges of said insulated walls on opposite sides of said door opening, hinges for said door having a first hinge element secured to said door and a second hinge element secured to the front edge of said insulated Walls and joined to one another by means of a hinge pin disposed forwardly of said cabinet, trim strip means enclosing said hinge elements and said hinge pin, a door latch secured to the front edge of said insulated Walls, said trim strip means comprising a .U-shaped trim strip extending forwardly from the front edges of said insulated Walls and serving to conceal said door seal strip when the door is closed and serving to enclose said mounting brackets and door latch, and means for removably securing said U-shaped trim strip to said brackets with the open end of the U abutting a portion of said insulated walls.

2. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having insulated walls forming an open front food storage compartment, a door for closing the open front of said food sotrage compartment, a door seal strip arranged between said door and the front edges of said insulated walls, a plurality of mounting brackets secured to the front edges of said insulated walls, hinges for said door having a first hinge element secured to said door and having a second hinge element secured to the front edge of said insulated walls, a door latch secured to the front edge of said insulated walls, and a trim strip extending forwardly from the front edges of said insulated walls and serving to enclose said mounting brackets and door latch, said trim strip having a cross-sectional configuration corresponding to the cross-sectional configuration of said hinges and having portions arranged in alignment with said hinges whereby the trim strip and said hinges present substantially continuous front and side surfaces.

3. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having insulated walls forming a food storage compartmenthaving a front opening, a door for said opening having its inner face arranged to seal against the front edges of said insulated walls, an uninsulated wall extension trim strip removably secured to the front edges of said insulated walls to conceal the line of juncture between said door and the front edge of said insulated walls, mounting brackets for said trim strip secured to the front edges of said insulated walls, and a door latch secured to the front edge of said insulated Wall, said wall extension trim strip comprising a U-shaped element arranged to enclose said mounting brackets and said door latch with the arms of the U straddling said latch and said mounting brackets and with the bight of the U forming the front of said trim strip.

4. In a refrigerator, a cabinet having insulated walls forming a food storage compartment, a door having means for sealing against the front edges of said insulated walls, hinge means for pivotally securing said door to .a front edge of said insulated walls, said hinge means coniprising a first element secured to said door and a second element secured to the front edge of said insulated walls, a cabinet edge strip disposed adjacent the edge of said door and secured to the front edge of said insulated walls and having a cross-sectional contour corresponding in shape to said hinge means and arranged in alignment with the pivotal axis of said hinge means, electric lead wires for conveying current from said cabinet into said door, said lead wires being concealed by said cabinet edge strip and arranged to enter said door at a point vertically offset from said hinge means along an axis substantially in alignment with the pivotal axis of said hinge means.

5. In a refrigerator, an open-faced outer shell having an inturned flange adjacent its front edge, an open-faced inner shell spaced from said outer shell and forming a food storage compartment, insulation between said inner shell and said outer shell, an insulating breaker strip disposed between said inturned flange and the front edge of said inner shell, said breaker strip having a front edge interlocked with said outer shell and having its rear edge interlocked with said inner liner, :1 door for said food storage compartment having a seal arranged to engage said inturned flange, and a trim strip removably attached to said inturned flange so as to be exposed to the ambient air and arranged adjacent the door edge in thermal exchange relationship with said inturned flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,050,800 Brunton Jan. 21, 1913 1,394,338 Nyman Oct. 18, 1921 2,101,465 Beers Dec. 7, 1937 2,153,851 Swedman Apr. 11, 1939 2,205,780 Forsthoefel June 25, 1940 2,209,659 Mercer July 30, 1940 2,296,243 Cresswell Sept. 22, 1942 2,426,055 Rundell Aug. 19, 1947 2,449,384 Hursey Sept. 14, 1948 2,460,469 Rifkin Feb. 1, .1949 2,606,052 Soreng Aug. 5, 1952 2,612,283 Cole Sept. 30, 1952 2,720,683 Schwenker Oct. 18, 1955 

